Washing-machine.



R. DANIELS.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21, 1913.

Patented J an. 27, 1914.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co wAsmxarox D. c.

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RICHARD DANIELS, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

WASHING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD DANIELS, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Milwaukee. in the county of Milwaukee and State of\Yisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inlVashing- Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple, economical andeffective washing machine, the construction and arrangement of which issuch that it can readily be assembled or dismounted.

lVith the above object in view the invention consists in certainpeculiarities of construction and combination of parts as hereinafterset forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequentlyclaimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view of themachine, the section being indicated by line l1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2, adetail cross-section of the same, the section being indicated by line2-2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a detailed sectional view illustrating meansfor locking the rotary drum, the section being indicated by line 33 ofFig. 1.

Referring by characters to the drawings, 1, 1, represent uprights thatare connected longitudinally by upper and lower sills 2, 2, andtransversely by upper and lower sills 3, 3. The uprights and transversesills 3 are also connected by angle-braces at, whereby the frame membersare stifi'ened, the said uprights being also connected intermediate.

of the sills 3, 3, by transverse struts 4 1". As best shown in Fig. 2,the upper frame sills 2 are longitudinally kerfed for the reception ofthe upper edges of a metallic tank 5, the bottom wall of which ispreferably semi-circular in form, the circle being struck from thecenters of the transverse struts 4:, l By fitting the upper edges of thetank into the kerfs of the sills, the said tank is thus secured in asimple manner and its upper edges are thereby protected by the sills.The tank is held in its suspended position within the frame by means oflongitudinally disposed tie-rods 6, which tie-rods engage the adjacentsurface of the curved tank bottom, the center tie-rod being secured tothe pair of lower sills 3, while the opposite rods are secured to thesets of angle braces 4. Thus the weight of the tank is supportedSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 21, 1913.

Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

Serial No. 780,120.

and the above specific construction, while rendering the frame simpleand rigid, also facilitates the assemblage and reduces the cost ofmanufacture. The mouth of the tank is inclosed by longitudinallyarranged panels 7, 7, and the panel 7 has hinged thereto a lid 7",whereby the closure is completed, the lid being provided for access tothe interior of the tank.

By employing top panels as shown and connecting them with the uppercorner sills, a tight joint is formed at these corners of the tank andthe tendency of accumulated water at the corners through sloshing toleak therethrough is avoided, attention being called to the fact thatthe joints between the lid and the panels being at an intermediate pointwill have slight tendency to leak due to the action of the water intraveling over the uninterrupted surface. A further advantage of theconstruction described is the fact that the tank, in connection with itsside walls and heads is of suflicient depth as to practically submerge awashing drum, to be hereinafter described, whereby the maximumetficiency in the washing operation is obtained.

In washing machines of the type to which my invention refers, so far asI am aware, the tanks are usually halved or divided upon the axis ofoscillation of the rotary drum mounted therein and hence leakage at thejoints is such that only a small quantity of water can be utilized.

Revolubly mounted within the tank is a skeleton drum A, which drum iscomposed of a pair of circular heads 8, 8, the same being connected byspindles 9 that are circular in cross-section, the said spindles beingsecured by wood screws 9 that pass through the drum-heads and enter thespindle ends, an auxiliary securing means being employed in the form ofnails or spikes to prevent the spindles from turning. These spindlesare, as shown, preferably spaced apart to permit the flow of watertherebetween, it being understood that the tank is filled with water ina washing operation, which water may be at any desired temperature andis drained from the tank when not in use through a drip-cock 10 withwhich the bottom of the tank is provided. Each drum-head is providedwith a series of radially disposed fins 11 that serve to assist inrevolving the material to be washed that is held within the drum andalso serve to agitate the water.

The drum-heads 8 and 8 are also provided with separable drum-headsections 12 which complete the circular contour of said drums and areeach connected to the main portion of the same by means of hinges 18.These drum-head sections are longitudinally connected by spindles 9",which spindles are secured in a manner similar to that described inconnection with the spindles 9 and serve to complete the skeletonsurface of the drum when the hinged section is closed, as best shown inFig. 2. The hinged section 12 is locked in its closed position bybuttons 13 that are swiveled upon plates 13, which plates are secured toa pair of the drum spindles 9, the buttons being adapted to engage haspmembers 14 that ex tend from plates which are secured to the juxtaposedpair of spindles 9 that are carried by the hinged section adjacent toits free end.

The transverse strut 1 of the frame is provided with an aperturedjournal-box15, into which aperture is fitted a stud 15' that projectsfrom the center of the drum-head 8. The opposite drum-head 8 is providedwith a centrally disposed apertured hub 16, into which hub is fitted theend of a studshaft 17. The stud-shaft 17 is mounted in a journal-box 18that forms part of the transverse strut 1 the said journal-box beingprovided with a gland 18 which extends through an aperture formed in theend wall of the tank, whereby a tight joint is effected, it beingunderstood that the journal-box 15 also projects through an aperture inthe opposite wall of said tank, as shown. Loosely mounted upon thestud-shaft, between the journalbox gland 18 and the hub 16 of thejuxtaposed drum-head, is a spacing-collar 19, the same being provided toprevent end play of the stud-shaft, which stud-shaft is arranged to beremoved through the gland and j ournal-box, whereby the drum in itsentirety can be lifted from the tank. In hanging the drum in itsposition, it is apparent that the trunnion stud 15 is first fitted intothe apertured hub 15 and thereafter the. stud-shaft 17 is insertedthrough the box, whereby its end is passed through the loose collar andis then socketed into the drumhead, being locked to said drum-head by aset-screw 16, which set-screw is in threaded union with the hub. Securedto the outer end of the stud-shaft is a gear-wheel 20, which gear-wheelmeshes with apinion 20 that is carried by a flywheel 21, the same,

together with the pinion, being loosely mounted upon a stud 22 that iscarried by the strut 4E By this gear connection power is applied to thedrum, whereby the same is rotated, the fiy-wheel being provided with ahandle for the application of manual power to the driving gear. Itshould be understood, however, that I may utilize any inotive force forrotating the drum, which force may be applied to the face of thefly-wheel by means of a belt,

In order to lock the drum against rotation and in such position that itsdoor or hinged section 12 will be alined with the lid 7 of the tank, Iprovide a gravity dog 28, a nose of which dog is adapted to engage anotch 23 that is formed in the hub of the gearwheel 20. Hence when thedrum is locked in the position shown in Fig. 2 the lid 7 is first openedand thereafter the hinged section of the skeleton drum is also swungopen, whereby access is had to the interior of the drum. The clothing orother articles to be washed are then inserted through the open mouth ofthe drum to its interior. The drum-section is then closed and locked,together with the lid of the tank, it being understood that the saidtank is filled to the desired level with water. The gravity dog is thendisengaged from the notched hub of the gear-wheel 20, being swung to adisengaging position about its pivot, in which in-- operative positionit is held by gravity. The washing operation is effected by rotating the'drum in the ordinary manner. This rotation of the drum causes thearticles being cleansed to shift back and forth in their confinedposition and, co-incident to this shifting water is permitted to freelyflow between the spindles, whereby a strong current is effected tothoroughly cleanse the articles, the said articles being also shifted bythe fins or flanges 11 that extend inwardly from the drum heads. It isfurther apparent that in rotating the drum the articles therein will notbe torn or damaged due to contact with the spindles owing to the factthat said spindles are circular in cross section, the clothing being atall times in contact with rounded or fiat surfaces, the fins, as shown,being semi-circular in cross-section.

From the foregoing description it is obvious that when the tank isclosed there are no crevices at the ends or top through which water isliable to seep caused through the rotation of the drum and it is alsomanifest that the drum can readily be removed or inserted within thetank from above the coupling connections previously described inconnection with the drive-shaft and, when so fitted, the drum is heldagainst lateral play due to the interposition of the collar 19.

I claim:

A washing machine comprising a skeleton frame provided with end uprightsand upper and lower sills connecting the uprights, the upper sills beinglongitudinally kerfed, a semi-circular bottom tank having apertured endheads fitted within the skeleton frame the top side-wall edges of thetank being embedded within the upper sill kerfs, panels secured to theupper sills and extending inwardly therefrom at predetermined dis- Intestimony that I claim the foregoing I 10 tances to form an opening inthe top of the have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee in tank, a lid forsaid opening, horizontally the county of Milwaukee and State of i:-ilispolsed tie-rods fo'ming plottom support; cousin in the presence oftwo witnesses.

or tie tank the sai tie-r0 s bein secure to the end members of theskeletdh frame, RICHARD DANIELS boxes projecting through the headapertures of the tank, and a drum fitted into the tank having trunnionsjournaled in the boxes.

Witnesses:

GEO. WV. YOUNG, M. E. DOWNEY,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C."

